Parents: How To Get Through The Hurricane Without Losing Your Mind

East-coasters who've been cooped up at home for the storm: I feel your pain. It was barely even nap time at our home and I was almost ready to tear my hair out. So far, we've put on a pot of chicken chili, played trains, read what feels like a hundred books, dealt with several tantrums and had two, um, "time-outs." There's a lot of contained energy here in this little apartment! We've also taped up the windows and gone on the last "essentials" run (batteries, water, munchies) and are hunkering down to be here what could be much, much longer. So I was wondering, what are other families doing to pass the time — and prep for the worst (which I'm hoping doesn't happen) during Hurricane Sandy? Here's what a few others said:

"We bathed the kids before the storm hit (so we could stretch it out if power goes out and we don't have hot water). Filled the refrigerator with containers full of water. Got out all the board and card games and books. I've spent most of today cleaning and doing laundry 'just in case' we are without power for days. Now I just need to keep the kids from playing with the flash lights and wasting the batteries!" — Meghan